Money Monday: 3 weird things

What I learned last week that amused and depressed me.

I’m often asked — by my wife’s friends and even my own staff — “so what do you do all day at work?”

Mostly, I read. It’s a sweet gig.

I look for financial research that will help people learn about, get out of, and stay out of debt. But every week, I find interesting tidbits I can’t really do anything with. Like this…

The country’s most expensive hotel is in Montana

“With an average rate of $2,385 per night, the Ranch at Rock Creek, located close to the historic mining town of Philipsburg, Montana, leads the list,” Luxury-Hotels.com reported Friday.

Want to stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Central Park? It’s a bargain at an average rate of $874 a night.

So what makes the Ranch at Rock Creek so damned pricey? It’s a “fully inclusive guest ranch” that includes twice-daily housekeeping, all meals, most alcohol, horseback riding, stagecoach rides, and “shotgun instruction,” among other perks.

Being around “attractive objects” makes you money-stupid

The University of Miami Business School announced some research results on Friday that I’m still trying to figure out. Here’s the headline: Exposure to Attractive Objects Makes People More Open to Financial Risk-Taking.

I’ll let assistant professor Claudia Townsend explain…

We found that people become more open to persuasive arguments when they see themselves related in some way to attractive objects. These findings can serve as a forewarning to consumers, but also as an opportunity for marketers who might decide to place attractive objects within sight of consumers shopping for something considered far from a sure thing. For example, used car dealerships might benefit from reminding consumers of a previous good-looking product they have purchased or of their attractive friends and family.

If I understand the professor, her research is teaching used-car salesmen how to dupe the public by telling them to think pretty thoughts. There’s a student loan crisis in this country, and this is what the money gets spent on?

If you want kids, pray for a girl

I never understood why fathers always want sons. I don’t have kids, but if I did, I’d want a daughter. No matter how poorly I parented and how well my wife did, she’d grow up seeking my approval and hating her mother. And I’d never have to face that father-son moment when my kid realizes he can beat me at sports or even beat me up.

Now there’s another reason: Your daughters will support you in your old age, while your sons will bleed you dry and leave you to bleed to death.